The Enemy of my Enemy
by Cat-Teen
Summary: Two new villains show up in Gotham City, and just to prove they're serious, Teleka has vanished. Can Venom and Blue Moon work out the plan and get Teleka back before it's all over? Second in the Triquetra Series
1. Thin Air

1

Triquetra Headquarters: A landmark Gotham city building, shaped like three triangles touching at one point, and connected by a circular corridor. Normally a peaceful place, and home of three teenage heroes. Normally.

"Teleka! You've been in that bloody bathroom for two hours! Get out!" Blue Moon screeched through the door, but received no reply. She filled her lungs again, ready to shout again, but the door swung open and all the breath was knocked out of her. "What the-? Where are you going?" She stared in mock horror as her friend exited the room, not in her trademark uniform for once. Instead, she wore a red halter top and black denim jeans, her hair scraped up into a chic bun. "What happened to you?"

"Out, and nothing happened, don't worry."

"Oh, out. I get it. With Speedy?"

"Is it any of your business?"

"Um... Yes?" she hazarded bravely. Teleka simply laughed and shook her head as a warning. "Fine, fine, don't tell me then. But I'll know by the time you get back."

"Sure you will," Teleka sighed confidently, walking past her best friend and downstairs. Venom, her other teammate, simply raised a single eyebrow as she stalked past him on her way out. "Don't even start. Blue Moon already tried." He raised his hands in silent surrender and returned to channel flicking. Teleka stepped outside, smiling as she shut the door behind her. In her books, that had been one of her easier escapes.

Blue Moon returned to the living room when the door shut, still looking out through the glass after her. "What do you think that's all about?"

"Probably meeting Speedy. What are you asking me for? You're the one who reads her diary," Venom answered tersely.

"You're right!" Blue gasped, "That's what I'll do!" She blurred away at her usual speed of light and returned with the black book, flicking through it as she collapsed on the sofa. "That's funny..." she murmured. "She hasn't written anything in three days. And the last time she disappeared on me like this was three days ago."

"It's probably nothing. Maybe she got a new diary and it's hidden," Venom taunted her. "Drop it. Ask Telly when she gets back."

The next morning, Venom almost choked on his coffee when Blue Moon once again blurred through the living room and stopped in front of him, her eyes wide and almost afraid. "Must've been a hell of a night Ven!" she said worriedly.

"Excuse me?" he asked, pushing her back slightly to give him room to breathe.

"Let me spell it out. Teleka. Not. Back! Pager. Phone. Communicator. Turned. Off. Got it?!"

"I'm sure she's fine Blue," Venom reassured her, laughing slightly. "Think about it. Maybe it was late last night, and rather than biking home in the dark, Telly crashed at Speedy's place. She's fine."

"Do you still think she's fine?" Blue fretted around lunchtime, blurring back and forth across the room. By then, Venom was also beginning to worry.

"Would it help you relax, so you can stop giving me a headache, if I called Speedy to ask where she went?"

"Actually..." Blue cried, just as loudly, pausing in midair before she dropped downwards to her favourite armchair. "Yeah, yeah, that would be good." She coiled up and turned the remote controlled television to face her as he walked out of the room. Every minute calmed her down slightly. She had been able to tell last night from Teleka's voice that she was indeed going out with Speedy, so obviously he would know where she was, right? 'Right,' she told herself comfortingly, just as Venom returned. All the comfort faded as he stood there simply looking at her. "What? Oh God, V, don't give me that, just tell me what he said already!"

"You won't like it..."

"Tell me!" she growled fiercely, blurring up inches from his face.

"Okay! Okay! Step back a bit! Speedy says he doesn't know where Teleka is, and also... she didn't show up last night. He tried to contact her as well. No luck."

"What? She can't have dropped off the face of the earth! Something's happened to her.... Oh, Ven! What are we gonna do?"

"Calm down. There's another reasonable explanation. What if she was in Jump City, or Metropolis? Her communicator, pager and phone would all be out of range. She could be at Titans Tower. She could be helping out Supergirl again, you know they're tight. She could be doing any number of things."

"But, you're missing the obvious thing Venom! Why wouldn't she have said anything? Why would she go without telling us? Why hasn't she gotten in contact? Something about this just doesn't sit right with me, V. And even you've got to admit..."

"I know. Something stinks. But we might as well check it out before we send out search parties."

Blue managed to momentarily calm herself enough to organize Venom's ideas into a plan. "Fine! Fine... You take point with the Titans; I'll talk to Supergirl. It'll work out fine!"

"Hey! Anybody? Where's that phone I hear?" Beast Boy shouted around the main room, sparking off a frantic search for the telephone. Infuriated by the constant noise, Raven broke from her meditation, lifting all the mess and the rubbish littering the room high into the air. The contraption lay on the breakfast bar, glowing black as Raven turned it to speakerphone.

"Hello?" she deadpanned, returning to her concentration.

"Rae? It's Venom. Is everyone there?"

"Uh... yeah," answered each of the six titans in unison, hearing the obvious concern on his voice.

"Is Teleka there?"

"Uh... No," they replied together, before Robin continued. "Haven't seen her. Isn't she at Triquetra HQ?"

"Would I be calling if she was?" Venom snapped curtly. "I'm sorry, it's just... she went out last night, didn't show up at Speedy's and she hasn't come back. Blue and I are getting kind of worried."

"Kind of!" Blue Moon could be heard screaming on the other end of the line. "Supergirl hasn't seen her, she was with Aqualad, and the same goes for him. Either Telly's lying dead somewhere, or she's dropped off the face of the bloody Earth!!!"

"Blue, calm down," Terra told her over the phone. "Go swoop over Gotham, you might catch her."

"Who knows what she's come up against... Gotham's not a safe place at night, even for a girl like Teleka," Cyborg murmured to Raven. Raven stayed silent, slightly stunned. It seemed Blue Moon and Venom had checked out anywhere she might have gone alone. To her, it honestly didn't sound like Teleka's behaviour.

"She cannot have dropped off the face of the earth," Starfire tried to reason. "For one, the earth does not have a face. And secondly, I believe the gravity of your planet makes this impossible." Beast Boy pulled up next to her and tried to explain the theory of a figure of speech.

"I've got to go," Venom said hurriedly. "Blue's on the communicator. She says she's run into trouble. If you hear anything, call us, okay?" The dial tone took over when he hung up.

"Well... That wasn't what I was expecting to do today," quipped Beast Boy.

Blue Moon had found herself in the centre of the street, facing off to two formidable figures. The first was a not-so-typical, tall dark and, she had to admit, rather handsome villain, dressed entirely in black. The other was female, dressed quite scantily in purple, with a long blonde ponytail.

"Aw, Daimen, I think she's lonely," said the girl, swinging around behind him with pleading puppy dog eyes. "I wonder where all her friends went..."

"You mean the Snake and the other one, the cute redhead... God what was her name?" he asked her, making it obvious that he already knew.

"Teleka."

"Yeah... I wonder where _she _went, Nocturne." Nocturne laughed wickedly and smirked at Blue, who realized quite suddenly what they were getting at.

"I swear, if you've harmed one hair on her redhead, I'll..."

"You'll?" asked Daimen sarcastically, as Blue found herself unable to move. Nocturne held her palm towards her, her eyes closed in concentration. "C'mon, humour me here!"

"I'll... think of something when you call your little girlfriend off," Blue fumbled helplessly, drawing more laughter from the two.

"I can think of a few things!" Venom jumped into the conversation over the roar of his motorbike, leaping the machine straight over Blue Moon's head and aiming straight for Nocturne. However with a flick of her hand, the bike froze in mid-air and threw him off, so he landed beside Blue Moon.

"This is too easy," giggled the girl with her stiff English accent. "But oh well. Do you want to take care of them, or shall I just stop their hearts with their dear Teleka's powers?"

"You stole her powers? You little bitch! I'll bloody kill you both!" Blue screamed while Venom quietly struggled against the hold.

"You and what army, Miss Moon?" Daimen muttered sarcastically, leaning down to her face with a sadistic smile on his face.

"This one. I swear, if you've so much as touched Teleka." Blue moved her head slightly as Daimen fell flat on his face between her and Venom, knocked over by an energy arrow. She laughed victoriously as it appeared Speedy had come to the rescue.

"Nocturne, freeze him!" shouted Daimen as he spun and began trading blows with Speedy.

"I can't! I've only got two bloody hands. And those, I believe, would be put to better use fighting!" Nocturne released her telekinetic hold over Blue Moon and Venom and reached to her belt. Her hands came away with tiny capsules between the fingers, and as she spread her hands they were flung towards the pair. Blue tried to rush Nocturne from her left, but found she was glued to the ground with deep violet foam that stretched but wouldn't break.

Venom called out to her before he attempted to attack the new enemy on the other side, only to find her stretched out hand freezing him again. Nocturne sealed her fist, not only crumpling Venom up uncomfortably, but also activating a change in one of her intricate mechanical bracelets. The thickest of the round bars it was constructed from rose above the others. The sides folded out with painstaking precision and blinding speed as the rest of the bars began to flow out of it, glowing slightly with orange energy. Most of them missed, but one hit home in Venom's shoulder. Nocturne's eyes widened. She hadn't meant to hit him, just get rid of the trio, but she shook it off. 'Call it a bonus,' she thought to herself.

Speedy had his own troubles. He had given up on his bow and arrows, finding that Daimen teleported around the area, fading in and out like a phantom. He settled now for landing as many hits as possible, ducking and blocking whenever he could. However, when he caught sight of the miniature crossbow Nocturne was sporting, and the glow surrounding the bolts, he froze. When had she absorbed his power? He was so preoccupied, he didn't notice Daimen fading in behind him until it was too late. With one arm wrapped around his throat, Daimen brought his fist down on his head, knocking him cold.

"Well, I'm sure we'll meet again. Someday," Nocturne said softly, smiling as she returned to Daimen's side.

"Yeah I'm sure we will. And as for Teleka... well I wouldn't wait up tonight," he finished as the pair faded out of sight.

"Wait a minute! What d'you bloody well mean? Tell us where she is!" screamed Blue Moon, struggling even harder against the foam. When she realized she was talking to thin air, she stopped and dropped down to the ground hopelessly. As soon as she ceased fighting against the substance that held her, it instantly began to evaporate. "... Now why didn't I think of that in the first place?" In minutes she was free and helping Venom to his feet. He had managed to pull the bolt from his shoulder but blood was now flowing freely from the wound.

"Well that went well," he hissed dryly walking towards Speedy. "He's out for the count."

"You don't say, mate? You two are bloody useless, you know that?"

"Whatever you say Blue. Whatever you say."

One hour later, at Triquetra HQ... 

"Okay... so what _do _we know about these people? Other than the fact that, as Blue Moon continuously has reminded us, they have Teleka," Speedy asked as the three sat around HQ morosely.

"Nothing! Nocturne steals people's powers and must be sneaking into the Batcave with the number of gadgets she's got. And for all the powers Daimen's got I'm thinking he's at least half-demon, if not fully. Oh yeah, and they have Teleka!" Blue helpfully reminded them, maybe only slightly irritated. Her outburst sat heavily over the group for a minute.

"Does anyone else think we might need help on this?" Venom interjected.


	2. Reinforcements and Battles Lost

2

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Gotham City... 

Nocturne and Daimen materialized in a top class apartment on the far side of the city, still smiling. "Do you think they're going to be much trouble now?" Nocturne giggled lightly, tilting her head towards him in challenge. She slumped onto the chocolate brown sofa gracefully and he dropped himself beside her.

"No... But I'm beginning to think you might be." Daimen's voice was still pleasant, but carried a hint of a threat.

"Excuse me? You'd never have taken all three on your own."

"I could've actually, but that's beside the point. What I mean is, why won't you tell me where you're hiding her?"

"Because. I'm a telepath, so my mind is a secure place. However, the Triquetra may also have telepaths on their side. I just don't want to see you hurt if they're ransacking your brain for information."

"You mean you don't trust me?"

"I'm not the one with the trust issues here. You're the one accusing me. All you need to know, is that the little hostage is safe in a place, where the Titans would never _dream _of looking for her."

"You had better not be playing me."

"And risk losing you? Why would I do that?" She looked straight at him, slightly hurt at his paranoia. After a moment of thick silence, his face softened. She looked away, but he reached out and gently nudged her chin, making her face him again. "Be careful... if our skin touches, I'd steal your powers... you'd have nothing, and I'd be in control of your mind as well... I don't want that for us," she warned, grimly reminding him of her cursed power. He sharply brought his hand away from her face, instead reaching down to her gloved paw.

"I'm sorry. I've met too many people like me, is all. Always afraid of getting stabbed in the back... You're different, Noc. I can feel it," he murmured in apology, returning the smile to her face.

"Mmh... You don't know the half of it," she beamed.

Just then, in Jump City... 

Raven was alone in the tower. It was her night off from patrol in the city. She was quite intent on making the most of the silence, levitating in the centre of the living room in deep meditation. She sensed the disturbance even before it happened. The shrill cry of the telephone sliced through her concentration like a razor blade. She hovered over to the counter and, as aggressively as is possible with a phone, lifted the receiver. "What?" she snapped irritably.

"Raven... Are you okay? Should I call back?"

"Oh Venom, it's you! No, it's okay. Did you find Teleka?" she asked, cheering up considerably at the voice.

"Not quite. Are the other Titans there?"

"No... Hold on a second, I'll rewire you to their communicators." Raven clipped her own communicator over the telephone wire and switched on. "Venom's on the line, guys. I think it's about Telly." An image from Triquetra HQ of the trio appeared on screen as Venom took over.

"Friends... Why are you sad?" asked Starfire, seeing their depressed faces. "Has Teleka not returned to your base?"

"We think she's been kidnapped. By two insanely powerful enemies. Ever heard of 'Nocturne' or 'Daimen'?"

"I don't think we've ever fought them," Cyborg answered. "You guys need some help?"

"That'd be nice!" Blue called broadly from the background, seemingly hugely interested in her fingernails.

"Not everyone can go..." Robin muttered, thinking out loud.

"Obviously, it's not like you can just abandon your city," Speedy added. "But Venom nailed it. Insanely powerful is a pretty good description."

"I'll go," Terra offered readily. Her traveller's nature was probably urging her to move on already.

"Me too," supplied Raven. "Teleka's my friend..."

"If Terra's going, _I'll_ go too," Beast Boy finished.

"Great. Thanks you guys. It shouldn't be for long," Venom said gratefully.

"We hope!" Blue Moon chimed in again, sounding uncharacteristically saddened.

Only a few hours later, Terra, Raven and Beast Boy sat with the remaining members of the Triquetra and Speedy in Gotham City. "This is so unreal," BB murmured once they had heard the whole story. "Not Teleka. Even if they took her by surprise, she'd have them on their asses in minutes. Trust me, I have experience."

"Video games don't count BB," Terra reminded him sadly.

"You're all speaking like she's dead!" Speedy said heatedly, standing up from his chair at the other end of the table. "Why would they be telling us they had her if she was dead? She's fine! They want to use her as a hostage, so they'll be keeping her alive!"

"We don't know what they want her for, Speedy," Venom said, gravely soft as always.

"Isn't it a little sore always straddling the fence, Venom?" came the reply, with Speedy stepping antagonistically closer

"I'm just trying t-"

"Save it for someone who-"

"Enough!" Raven snarled, parting the two with her powers. They traded glares through the black wall before they both backed off back to their seats. "Fighting is getting us nowhere, especially not closer to the bottom of this."

"She's right. Just chill out, yeah?" Blue chided them darkly. "As far as I see it, we have two choices. One, we wait and see what Nocturne and Daimen are planning and then we take them down for definite. Or Two, we get out there and _find_ Nocturne and Daimen, take them down before they start, and then find Teleka afterwards."

"I vote Two!" called Speedy, Venom and Beast Boy in near unison and total discord.

"But the problem there is, what if we can't find Telly when all's said and done?" Terra interjected. "I say One."

"But the problem _there _is, what if they y'know... kill their hostage?" Raven continued, taking Venom's place on the proverbial fence. "Obviously both plans have their problems. What if..."

"Enough of the 'what if's already! My head's starting to spin!" Beast Boy cried out, morphing into an ostrich and demonstrating by twisting his huge neck around. He was about to continue when a Triquetra alarm went off. Blue Moon walked to the computer matrix at the other end of the room and busily typed for a second.

"It's them. Let's get out of here!" She ran to the open window and prepared to fly on. "Raven, come with me, we'll fly ahead and scout it out. Ven, you take the car and the others and follow us. Hurry!"

"Are you sure they're coming, Noc?" Daimen sighed impatiently, standing precariously on one of the thin stone ridges protruding from the side of the downtown Mars Building of Gotham City.

"Take it from a girl who knows Gotham, Daimen, they'll be here. They're all this place has got when Bats is off with the JL."

"They're taking long enough. We could've been here and back a dozen times."

"Ah, but would we have gotten this?" she challenged him, waving a thick manila folder under his nose from where she sat on the window ledge beside him.

"Is that it?"

"Yes indeed. Everything we came for handily pre-collected in the one file. How thoughtful of them!"

"You're brilliant! You're sure that's everything we need?"

"I know I'm a genius, honey, don't inflate my ego, and yes, that's everything," she smiled at him before she looked away. "Ah look, our beloved Triquetra brought the cavalry. Six on two... Not good odds."

"Yeah... maybe you should just go on ahead, even the score for them," he joked, beginning to fade out.

"You're kidding, right? I wouldn't miss this for the world. Ready to go?" She looked around, smiling when she saw he was gone. "Should have known better than to ask," she muttered, sliding off the window ledge into freefall. She reached one hand out sideways, flying past Daimen as he rematerialized. She would leave Blue Moon and Raven for him alone this time.

Meanwhile, those in the car below lost the sense of movement as the wheels were lifted from the ground. Two dents appeared in the ceiling with a loud thud, just as the roof itself began to peel away, bending slowly like a bird in the wind. Nocturne ducked over the edge, smiling brightly with her ponytail waving in the breeze. "Ladies and Gents welcome to Nocturne Air all passengers are advised to keep their seatbelts fastened at all times as we can be expecting turbulence." She disappeared again, flipping off the roof and waving as she passed the back window on her way to the ground. The car swung through the air at her mercy, before Nocturne released her telekinetic grip. She quickly pulled it back to the ground just before it slammed into the Mars Building, much to the surprise of the occupants. Terra and Beast Boy had already risked the jump, using their powers to each land safely.

Nocturne giggled wickedly and took a bow, smirking at them. "Girl, I don't know who you are or what you think you're going to get away with, but it's not going to happen on my watch!" Terra called in warning as her hands began to glow.

"Your watch? This isn't even your city! Darling, ten minutes ago you couldn't even have told me where the Mars Building was, never mind what was in it. You used to skip past Gotham City when you were travelling, remember? What was it? Aren't the caves good enough for you here?" Nocturne snorted. Terra snarled angrily and pulled her hands in towards her chest. Jagged pieces of the pavement flew up behind her floating enemy, moving at blinding speed, but Nocturne simply floated slightly to the left, allowing them to pass easily. Beast Boy ducked to avoid the hail, but Terra continued to fight and yell, jumping upwards, dragging a platform out of the ground beneath Nocturne.

The gymnastic villain looked around, laughing in disbelief when she saw she was once again level with the roof of the building. She took a swan dive off the platform, releasing more of her capsules from her belt. Beast Boy found himself stuck to the ground with the same foam she had used on Blue Moon, while Terra rose slightly off the ground in a violet bubble, unable to use her powers. "You'll have to do better than that, honey," Nocturne sighed smugly as she dragged her hand across the rippling surface of the force field on her way past. She bent down and tapped the foam holding Beast Boy. It instantly hardened and she looked him straight in the eye. "And as for you..."

Nocturne was cut off as something landed square in the centre of her back, throwing her forward. She landed face down and turned to see Venom leaping at her again. He landed across her chest, pinning her down. He bared his fangs silently at her, but only drew a smile. "You don't waste any time do you?" she grinned, flicking her eyes over his compromising position.

"What have you done with Teleka?" he hissed through his pointed teeth, ignoring her and leaning down to her face.

"Nothing yet. She's safe..." Nocturne trailed off and reached up, placing her hand suggestively around Venom's head. "...For now."

"Just off topic for a second, but what do you think you're doing?"

"Mmh, you'll see," she whispered. He felt her body tense as she prepared to move, but it was already too late.

"Get your filthy paws off him!" Raven growled, sending a blast of her telekinesis down towards the ground, aiming for Nocturne's skull. Using her hold on Venom's head, Nocturne avoided the flare, pulling up underneath his torso and forcing his head to the ground to take the full force of the explosion.

"Jees, Rae!"

"I was aiming for that -" Raven's apology was cut off when Venom was tossed upwards, taking her back out of the air into the side of the building.

"A little friendly advice, Raven. Your aim leaves a lot to be desired. Not to mention your boyfriend." Raven's temper was about to reach boiling point when Venom turned to calm her.

"Don't lose it Rae," he muttered quietly to her. A purple shell landed at their feet, before it exploded upwards in what looked like silk ribbons. These twined themselves around the already tangled couple and stuck like spider webs, holding them against the wall of the towering Mars Building. Nocturne sauntered past with the same self-satisfied smirk on her face, but not before Venom spotted the folder tucked into her belt at the back. He nodded Raven towards it, wondering if her powers were still active. Her face crumpled with concentration, but the documents wouldn't come away. A few pages from the centre came loose and floated to the fingers of Raven's restrained hands. No matter how much they rustled on their way, Nocturne didn't seem to notice...

Daimen was busy fighting Blue Moon and Speedy as they attacked together. Anyone simply watching the fight would call it undeniably close. Anyone looking closer would have declared a winner by now. While both the heroes were struggling to catch their breath, their adversary hadn't even broken a sweat. "Noc! These two are boring me. How did you get all the good ones?"

"They come to me, hon. Should I free a couple up for you?"

"Leave them. This is over anyway."

"I quite agree, I just know how much you love a _worthy_ adversary," Nocturne laughed, looking arrogantly at Speedy and Blue, anticipating their next moves with her telepathy. She simply stood still as they came at her, rushing her to the ground.

"Let me explain this to you, so that you might understand me," Speedy snarled. "Whatever you have done to Teleka, I will do to you ten times over. Then I'll set Blue Moon loose on you."

"It's so cute the way you all so blindly love her, even after all she's done, after all she put you through, all she's going to put you through..."

"Shut your big fat posh snobbish mouth, you posh snobbish bitch! You don't know anything about Teleka!" Blue fumed, forcing Nocturne's head back into the concrete.

"I know a lot more about her at the minute than _you_ do, Blue. You're right, Daimen, these two _are_ boring. Let's get out of here." She flicked her fingers, throwing Blue Moon and Speedy in opposite directions and allowing Daimen to help her up, fading her away. "_Bonne soir, mes amis_!"

Speedy shook off his awkward landing and glanced around. "Six of us, and the two of them still managed to beat us? We have to do something about these guys, and fast."

"Ya think?" answered the other five in unison.

"Dude, the chick _on her own_ would be hard to beat, but when you match her up with that Daimen thing, they're unstoppable," Beast Boy said, his voice muffled in the hard casing.

"And Nocturne knows things noone outside the Titans should know..." Terra continued, banging against the walls of the bubble.

"Like me and Rae," Venom interjected.

"She must be getting all this from Teleka's mind, now that she has her telepathy," Raven reasoned.

Blue Moon began to untangle Raven and Venom as they spoke, voicing some shady opinions of her own. "All that's true chums, really it is. But that annoying, blonde, preppie bitch was right about something else too. They still know more than us. We're still completely in the dark as to their plans. And unfortunately, as to Teleka. That's twice in the one bloody day we've had our arses monumentally kicked!"


	3. Of Mice and Birdmen

3

The next morning, Triquetra Headquarters was awake a lot earlier than usual. Of course this was mainly due to the fact that noone had been able to sleep anyway, and actually had very little to do with Blue Moon rousing the troops with single foghorn reveille courtesy of her own lungs. The large circular table in the heart of the building became the nerve centre of their planning, littered with the sheets Raven had been able to steal. "They're plans of the city," Venom stated, slightly confused. "The sewer system, street and development maps. Most of this is available legally. Why go to all that trouble?"

"I don't think this is legal, Ven. Stonegate Prison and Arkham Asylum schematics aren't handed out to tourists on the first flight in, y'know?" Speedy muttered, pointing out two large sheets at the centre of the table.

"What would they want there?" Raven said quietly, thinking out loud.

"People, Havoc, Items that are kept there as evidence, any combination of the above. Take your pick," Blue Moon supplied helpfully. "It's been done before."

"Should this be here?" Terra enquired, pulling a sheet out from the bottom of the pile after spotting its title. "GCPD headquarters... This keeps getting better and better."

"But, why? Don't these people always have a grand master plan? World domination, City Domination, destruction of the local super-group, something like that?" BB added, leaning back in his chair and swinging his feet up on the table

"That's what we have to figure out. And so far, this is all we have. Use it," Venom told him, flicking through the rest of the papers in case they'd missed something.

"Hold the phone!" Blue yelled, making them all jump and sending Beast Boy backwards. "Mates, we are in serious Barney!"

"What?" they asked in confused unison.

"Barney Rubble. It means trouble if you're a Cockney! That's not the point! Look at this. This is the shit we're knee deep it right now!" She threw a stapled sheaf of sheets down onto the table in front of them. Trying to get the five remaining members around it was quite a squeeze, until finally Venom and Raven gave up, moving back and allowing the others to fill them in.

"What does it say?" Raven asked, a little more interested than was usual for her as she craned her neck to see around the edge of the paper.

"It's like... Blackmail material," Terra informed her, "But none of it's really what you'd call _decent_ Blackmail material."

"Keep reading Tez, it gets bloody decent when you hit the last couple of pages," Blue cried despairingly, dropping her head into her hands.

"Wow, you're right... Is this one true?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Hey Speedy, what about this one?" BB snickered, looking like he was ready to collapse laughing.

"You ever bring that up, and I will think of so many, so painful ways to kill you you'll wish you'd cut your own tongue out. Wait, wait! This one about Telly can't be true. The second-last one here, can it?" An uncomfortable, stony silence fell over all of them. Even those who hadn't seen the short sentence could guess what it said. "I'll take that as, 'Sorry, but it's true,' shall I?"

"We all make mistakes. Telly's were just... hard to fix." Venom supplied.

"But she's good now. She may not always be _nice_ but she's always good." Blue Moon was solemnly defensive of her lost friend, but at the same time snatched the paper back from them in case they should find out what the very last one was. "Which is precisely why we have to stop talking and-"

"Blue, what's this?" Raven asked cautiously, holding a thin slice of red plastic between her fingers.

"That's Teleka's communicator chip... That's weird. Neither of them should have been able to get this out without seriously damaging the com, and that sets off and alarm and a tracker here at HQ." She reached for her own communicator and replaced her chip with Teleka's. She fumbled for a second. "Venom, what's her bloody password? I can't remember it."

"Why do you ask me these things, when you know I never know because I'm not the nosy one in this building?"

"I am not nosy, merely curious. And thank you, you just subliminally reminded me! It's 'getoutblue'," she muttered as she typed. "Remind her to change it when she gets back, because you all know now." She began to check through the contents of the chip. "I don't know... Everything _looks_ normal. Oh hold on a sec, what's this?" She pressed only one more key before a holographic image appeared over the screen and she jumped backward, falling off her chair with a shout. "Bloody – Oh... it's only them two."

The image of Nocturne and Daimen was evidently pre-recorded on the chip, playing back a message. "Well done. You're slimier little pickpockets than I gave you credit for," Nocturne began, dripping with sarcasm as usual.

"Anyway, we're sure you've found the maps by now..." Daimen continued.

"Or else you're _not _slimier little pickpockets than I gave you credit for."

"Which means you either worked out our plan, or you've got some idea of what it involves..."

"Anything else would mark you as utterly dense."

"And we just thought it would be only fair to warn you that if we see so much as a trace of any of you within about a mile of any of those buildings, Nocturne here stops Teleka's heart, there and then."

"And to add insult to injury, you'll never find her body!"

"So the bottom line is, if you value her life, and you want Teleka returned to your little landmark alive and well, you won't stop us. It's your choice, you can lose a friend, or you can lose this city. I hope you make the right decision."

"Do you think our little stunt'll work, hon?" Nocturne asked playfully, twining her fingers through Daimen's.

"We just ensured their cooperation on the night, Noc. Don't worry about it," he assured her, pulling his hand away.

"Leather on Skin doesn't absorb."

"Just in case."

"What's wrong? Something's bothering you, I can sense it," she said concernedly, turning him to face her and meeting his eyes. "Tell me."

"What if this doesn't work out?"

"Then we'll make them regret it and start over. Look at it this way. Would it be half as much fun if it were easy? Why? Are you bottling out on me already?"

"Not a chance, Noc. But you've had all the fun so far. When all this is over, I'm taking the Triquetra and their little helpers down, one by one."

"When all this is over honey, they're all yours."

"When all this is over, they're mine!" Blue Moon fumed. The rest of the party were scouring the city, hunting down any connections they might have, tracking down any leads. Blue, however, due to her slightly unstable moods, had been nominated to stay behind at HQ in case any information should come that way. "Nobody's listening anymore, are they?" She received still no reply on her earpiece. "I... didn't think so."

"I'm sorry Blue, did you say something?" Terra said, unwittingly jabbing.

"Oh I was just saying, when all this is over, everything's going to be fine. You know me, ever the optimist Tez!" Blue replied sarcastically, crumpling in front of the television. "How's everyone doing anyways?"

"The East Side's clear," Terra supplied, scanning her area from high above the ground.

"West Side's empty. God, does this place always clear out so quickly at night?" Beast Boy's witty observations had constantly been a source of annoyance, but for once, noone had bothered to shut him up.

"Pretty much. Does anything ever happen on the South Side? Why was I sent here?" Venom complained.

"Because Nocturne sounds and acts like an aristocrat. She'd like the quiet side of town. North Side's clear." Speedy sounded almost smug when he spoke, although noone noticed.

"Save it, Speedy-"

"I'm just saying-"

"Will you two give over!? Are you sure?" Blue Moon enquired, utilizing her lie-detector powers to hear something on his voice.

"Yeah, there's no sign of anything out of the ordinary." Blue was about to question him further when Raven interrupted.

"I might have a lead in Central. If I still don't need glasses, I just spotted Nocturne."

"Location," Venom demanded, leaping towards his bike, while the others across the city headed in to meet Raven. She swooped in closer to read the sign, noticing that none of the entrants were exactly dressed for battle. Suits and dresses were more the trend.

"It's called the Iceberg Lounge," she informed them, drawing a collective breath from those familiar with the city. "Was it something I said?"

"The _Penguin_ owns that place, Rae. Almost legitimately. He'd probably end up suing the Triquetra for damages," Venom answered. "That's what we're dealing with here."

"Just be careful," Blue Moon warned them all before asking, overzealously, "Do you need me now?" Only silence answered her. "Fine then. But Speedy's staying behind next time!"

"Natalia, darling!" Oswald Cobblepot, better known as the ruthless crime-lord the Penguin, greeted Nocturne exuberantly as she strolled into the office. "It's been so long. What can I do for you?"

"Ozzy, honey, reverse your query," she spoke softly, dropping into the chair on the other side of his desk. "It's what _I _can do for _you_."

And what would that be, Miss Kitka?" he asked her quickly, suddenly very intrigued.

"An associate and I are in need of a third party, and perhaps a place to cover a little operation of ours. We've agreed, Ozzy. We're willing to cut you in if you'll simply allow us to utilize one of your back rooms here at the lounge, or perhaps one of your warehouses elsewhere. Any little space will suffice." She presented her offer with the utmost confidence, reclining sleekly in the chair like the cat who knows which old dear on the street will feed it. "I do owe you so many favours from oh so long ago..." she added, knowing that as she did so she might as well have been sealing the deal.

"And what have you to offer me from this... venture, dare I say, of yours, Natalia?"

"Why Ozzy dear, the entire south side of Gotham City. And no less. Who knows? Perhaps even better fortune than we can expect shall befall us. You could end up with more. Are you interested?"

"Perhaps. Explain to me the details of your plan, Natalia."

Meanwhile, at Triquetra Headquarters, Blue Moon was still muttering in annoyance as she flicked through the channels. "It's true what they say. Twelve hundred stations and nothing to watch..." she murmured. She had skipped past the news channel by the time she recognised the brief flicker of the image and raced backwards. "You've got to be... That's..." she pushed her earpiece back into her ear. "Hey everybody! Smile; you're on bloody TV!"

The party had fanned out across the rooftops surrounding the Iceberg Lounge, watching all entrances and exits visible. Noone had spotted the news crews at the windows of the complex however.

"It says on the news, the birthday celebrations of Selina Kyle have been seemingly besieged by the teenage heroes of both this town and others. Get out of there, it's a trap!" Blue shouted manically.

"No. This is just Nocturne's way of protecting herself. If we leave, we might miss something important," Speedy reasoned, drawing back into the shadows of his rooftop as he spoke.

"And if you don't, God knows what's going to happen! Get out of there, now!"

"Blue, if you were here, you'd be doing exactly the same thing. We can handle it." Venom's tone was final, not allowing her to argue any further. "Just leave it. We'll be fine."

"You better be, because you know how much I hate saying 'I told you so',"

"Blue, you love saying 'I told you so.'"

"So?"

"So? Can I be assured of your cooperation, Ozzy hon?" Nocturne asked sweetly after he had eagerly expressed his interest.

"You certainly can, Natalia my dearest. Such a pleasure to do business with you once again!" He took her hand, always the utter gentleman, and softly kissed it.

"Thank you Ozzy. I knew I could rely on you. But now I must ask you one last favour. Would you mind terribly if I borrowed a few of your girls? Those pesky heroes are outside and I need to fend them off for another... fifteen minutes," she asked pleasantly, glancing at her diamond-encrusted watch.

"Why certainly, my dear!" he chuckled. "I'll send them out right away. In fact, I believe they can handle a few meddlers, why don't you stay for a while and enjoy the party?"

"Well Ozzy, I think I'll take you up on that offer." Nocturne smiled, sleekly shimmying out into the club, just as a dozen of the Penguin's trained beauties walked out into the street, ready to face the five heroes.


	4. Love and the Puzzle

4.

Two Iceberg Girls positioned themselves at each door, watching carefully for any disturbance. "Hey Blue, do you remember when Speedy said Nocturne was protecting herself?" Terra quipped, floating downward to look closer. "He was wrong. The Penguin's protecting her."

"Everybody be careful. They're probably just a cover for Nocturne leaving. Don't get too caught up," Raven warned, hovering just above two of the Iceberg Girls who had just spotted her. The rest of the team shimmied closer, eventually joining the fray. The Iceberg Lounge's security may not have had the superpowers of the heroes, but their agility, gymnastic ability and technique were flawless. They seemed to share a hive mind, moving in perfect sync or combining their talents in combination moves. But as they soon found out, flawless just doesn't cut it with superheroes, even if your numbers are greater.

Of course, none of this made a difference to Nocturne, who mixed in seamlessly with the crowd at the party. Fifteen minutes later, she had answered her cellphone practically as it went off. "Perfectly timed as usual, hon. I trust everything went well?"

"It went better than well, what with you keeping those minor annoyances down in your area. What about your end?"

"Swimmingly and ahead of schedule. I got myself invited to the party. Do you want to come on down? The 'minor annoyances' are still outside. Ozzy has the Iceberg Girls on them, but I've got a feeling they're not winning."

"Sounds like my kind of party. I'll see you there?"

"Honey I can't fight in this dress... but I'll distract them until you get here."

The last icy shurikens of the Penguin's bodyguards missed their mark, as most of their comrades lay defeated or retreating. The battle, originally ten against five, had become two against five. The remaining pair glanced at each other, before simultaneously spinning on their three-inch heels and sprinting back to the safety of the Lounge. When the doorway cleared, someone else stood just inside. Nocturne's violet gloves and evening gown made her look more like a young debutante than a super-powered villain.

Immediately, all five faces contorted with hatred and a dark green wolf snapped at her heels. "Careful now. Wouldn't want to give those vultures something to film, would we? Can't we just talk this over?" she cautioned with a smile, as nonchalant and flippant as ever.

"Ok, we'll talk," began Speedy angrily. "Two nights ago, you kidnapped a friend of ours-"

"Two nights! God, how time flies... Suppose I should feed her sometime..."

"Now you and your little boyfriend are planning to rip off this city somehow, and your using our friend to help you do that," Venom continued, dangerously quiet, his fangs bared.

"And we're not happy," finished Raven for him, beginning to crackle slightly with dark energy when Nocturne didn't even react. She stood totally still, wearing her sickly smirk as usual. "What is your problem? How can you be so- so-"

"Sanguine? Self-assured? Upbeat?" Nocturne supplied, far too helpfully, obviously enjoying Raven's annoyance. She simply continued beaming as a bolt of the energy broke away from Raven and shot out, scorching her bare shoulder. "Now now, hon. Don't get all upset on me"

"Rae, don't give her what she wants," Venom cautioned her softly, pulling her back.

"But what does she want?" asked Beast Boy morphing back to his human form. "If your plan's so foolproof, tell us!"

"Now where's the fun in that?"

"It might take the smile off your face."

"I think I liked you better when you were a mutt," Nocturne growled with a hint of a threat on her voice. However, within seconds she had returned to her normal self, looking over their heads and waving charmingly to somebody in the street. "Ah, here comes my cavalry. Impeccably timed as always. Well I must say I think I've blocked this doorway too long, don't you? I have mingling to do. I'm sure we'll meet again. Soon."

The team turned to acknowledge Daimen's presence behind them, and in all the time it took to turn their heads, Nocturne had disappeared into the crowd within. "So we're stuck with you? How fun. I don't think we've met. I'm Terra."

"No, you're unfortunate," Daimen quipped dryly as he faded out of sight, reappearing behind Terra and making sure both of them faded. They materialized at the top of the building, with Daimen standing right on the edge and Terra's feet dangling over thin air. "Very unfortunate."

"So you keep saying." A piece of the concrete roof lifted free and shot towards them. Daimen jumped out of the way, but didn't let go of Terra. The boulder only scratched his arm; Terra wasn't so lucky, taking the full force of the blow to her back just before she dropped through the void, hurtling towards the ground.

"Terra!" exclaimed Beast Boy, swooping to the rescue as a pterodactyl and catching her across his wings. Speedy launched a grappling hook arrow towards the roof while Raven levitated upward, holding on to Venom. "I'll take care of Terra. You take care of him."

"Let me guess, you need me _now_, right?" Blue asked eagerly as she watched the drama unfold on the news and heard someone about to contact her on the earpiece system.

"Yeah," the others answered in flat unison.

"Woohoo! I'll be there in a jiffy, chums!"

Speedy, Raven and Venom stood steadily on the roof of the Iceberg Lounge facing Daimen. "We don't want to fight. We just want answers," said the latter, his fangs bared and dripping venom.

"Where is Teleka?" Speedy asked, knowing he wouldn't be asking so politely again, biting off each word like an individual sentence.

"Can't help you," Daimen answered coolly, glowing an even darker hue than Raven as he adopted a fighting stance.

"Wrong answer!" shouted Raven angrily, struggling to restrain her demon half as she launched bolts of energy at her enemy. He dodged most of them, and those that did connect seemed inconsequential. Daimen absorbed the energy surrounding him and turned it back on her in the form of a single potent blast that took Raven from the air to the hole Terra had left in the concrete and holding her there. "Damn it... You'll have to work together. Keep him busy while I break out of this."

"Right. Venom, let's go."

"I hear you. Blind him," Venom growled quietly, crouching as he prepared to pounce.

"Got it." Speedy fired a volley of arrows at the ground, each one exploding in a flash of light or small explosion of smoke. Daimen coughed and spluttered for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. It didn't take long for the pain to set in. He looked disdainfully down, recognizing the puncture marks along one of the major veins in his arm.

"Nice work, Fangs," he growled. "Pity you can even hide yourself among all that smoke!" Daimen spun into a punch, catching Venom by the face where he was crouched behind him. The stunned Venom lay bleeding, hanging precariously over the edge.

"So much for teamwork." Speedy loaded his bow again, cautiously stepping closer to Daimen.

"You care for her, don't you? Maybe even love her. Deluded fool. There's no such thing! Isn't it obvious? She's using you," he scoffed, having been a firm believer in psychological torment for most of his life.

"What about Nocturne? She's using you. And what makes you think I care for Teleka?"

"It's written all over you. And my partnership with Nocturne is purely business."

"You keep telling yourself that and she might just get what she wants." Speedy counter-attacked with the same tactics, anticipating Daimen's reaction.

"No!" he shouted, letting off another blast at Speedy. This time, however, its target was calmer and better prepared. The energy met with one of Speedy's charged arrows, creating a larger explosion. The results of the detonation took both combatants by surprise as the cement beneath their feet began to quake. "Oh, nice shot!" called Daimen as pieces of the roof began to cave in and tumble into the club below. Most of the shards landed in the large central pool on the ground floor that contained the huge iceberg from which the club took it's name, serving no higher purpose than to startle the seals who called it home. However, others crashed onto the higher tiers around the walls.

Nocturne stood by the pool, catching the full force of the waves caused by a large shard of cement. Instinctively, she raised her hands to the ceiling, struggling to hold the pieces of the roof aloft. Daimen and Speedy hovered over the icy water, still on the platforms. Meanwhile in the crater, Raven fought even harder to free herself, using most of her power to protect the people in the higher tiers. The now-unconscious Venom was in an even more dangerous position than before, dangling over the edges like a pall draped over a coffin.

"Natalia Kitka!" Nocturne couldn't help but smile when she heard the enraged shout of the Penguin from the other side of the floor.

"They're not mine, Ozzy! I'm only trying to help!" she called back, shouting over the commotion and her own pain at bearing the weight of the concrete. She tried to push it upwards, but the effort of simply holding it stationary was draining her stolen powers. Suddenly, the great weight was partially lifted. Nocturne spun to see Terra, supported by Beast Boy, going through the same physical torment as hers was mental as she lifted the concrete upwards.

"On my count, throw it up and I'll seal it!" Nocturne nodded, taking a second to ask herself why she was being helped. "Alright, 1... 2... 3!" Nocturne hurled the pieces upwards with the full force of her powers and held them in place while Terra melded them back into place. The instant it was done, they both fell heavily to their knees, struggling for breath. Terra had Beast Boy to catch and calm her, bringing her back to her feet in seconds. Nocturne felt the ripples through the ground before Terra had a chance to move it. She flipped backwards, balancing like a cat on the bar above the water.

"Thanks all the same," she growled, raising one hand off the bar, throwing the pair backwards, out through the same door they entered by. "But save your Snake friend!" She slowed them to a stop on the asphalt, in prime position to watch as Venom slid slowly off the edge of the roof and began to tumble towards the cold, lifeless ground. Beast Boy morphed once again into his pterodactyl form, knowing that unfortunately even he couldn't move that fast. Terra's powers were drained, Raven was still trapped and Speedy was still focussed on Daimen. But of course, there is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Something seemed to pick Venom out of the air sideways, folding him double, but slowing his descent. It wasn't until he crashed to the pavement that his rescuer slowed down enough to be visible.

"I told you you'd need me, so as I much as I hate to do it, I'm going to say it." Blue Moon smiled smugly up at Terra and Beast Boy, still holding onto Venom.

"Just go ahead Blue," BB sighed as he finally landed and breathed a sigh of relief. "You told us so."

"Nah, I'm going to wait until everyone's here. Right then, where's the action?"

"On the roof. Speedy's up there on his own. Be careful, Blue. Raven and Venom already lost out. Don't be next," Terra cautioned, keeping Venom from the ground and checking his pulse was still strong.

"Like I would! You coming, BB?" Beast Boy nodded dutifully and took off after Blue Moon as she soared towards the roof. They landed at the edge, just as Raven won the fight to free herself from the black shackle holding her down, effectively surrounding Daimen. "Alright, guv?" Blue smirked, cracking her knuckles as he turned to face her.

'Daimen, hon? Can you hear me?' Nocturne's voice echoed through his head as they began to power up.

'I'm kind of busy here, Noc!'

'Which is what I'm trying to say if you'll give me a chance! Do you need me or should I head on?'

'Are you okay? You sound tired.'

'Of course I'm tired. I just single-handedly raised the roof on this place. These powers are drained... And you're poisoned, maybe you should just get out of there.'

'You go. Rest up until you're at full force again. We'll need those powers over the next few nights. I'll be fine. I've got a few healing tricks up my sleeve'

'You're telling me? I'm in your head. But if you're sure... I'll see you back there. Watch out behind you," she whispered, leaving his head. Daimen took heed of her warning and stepped quietly to the left, stretching out his arm to clothesline Blue Moon as she blurred at him from behind. She pivoted around her throat and landed flat on her back, choking and coughing. He sensed Beast Boy following after her and lunged backwards, landing behind him as the green rhinoceros charged onwards into Speedy.

Daimen stood calmly, waiting for Raven to make her move. "You got the better of me once tonight," she snarled. "It won't happen twice." She floated upwards, surrounded in a larger, darker aura than usual. Using a series of short blasts as cover, she moved closer and closer, until she was only a foot or so away from Daimen. Raven landed on the concrete and rotated on her toes, snapping out one leg to the side of Daimen's head, charging her kick with telekinesis. She caught him by surprise and he fell sideways. He looked up to her with shining red eyes and a grimace twisting his features.

"You want to play this hand to hand? We'll play this hand to hand then. It makes no difference to me," he told her with restrained anger tingeing his voice. He spun and grounded Raven, sweeping her off her feet and onto her back. She still managed to reach over and deliver another charged punch to his face. She pinned him down with her powers, but her hold only lasted a moment before her threw her upwards and flipped back to his feet. Raven landed on her feet also, somersaulting in the air and crouching close to the ground.

"I'm sick of this! Just tell us one of two things, either what you're planning, or where you're hiding Teleka," Raven growled, looking up as her hood slid away, revealing four red eyes glowing in her face.

"What we're planning, Raven, is enough to blow your little demon mind, and I need this city in one piece to do it, so I really don't want you to explode on me yet. Time I disappeared, I think," he continued calmly, beginning to fade away. He moved closer to Raven as he spoke, fading through the darkness that lashed out at him. He snapped out his forearm across the side of her neck, landing dead-on a pressure point, knocking her out before he finally vanished.

He rematerialized back in the lush apartment, facing Nocturne where she lay half-asleep on the couch. "Did you get them, hon?" she asked quietly.

"Hardly. They're so amateurish they practically take care of themselves."

"What about tonight's objective?"

"Oh I got that alright. That was the easy part."

"Don't be so cocky," she smiled, anticipating her prize like a small child thinking about Christmas morning. He pulled a small leather wallet from his back pocket and tossed it to her. It landed on her chest and fell open, revealing a number of key-cards and a tiny computer chip. "Oh Daimen, you're a god! Simply divine, darling! Yes! We are good to go. Oh... That's made my night now!"

"Glad to oblige. It's not like I'm not getting anything out of it."

"Well, I promised Ozzy the South Side in return for his compliance, so you can have West and North, and I'll take East and Central... Just imagine it. The entire city belonging to just three individuals. What a vision..."

"So long as we can pull it off."

"I wouldn't have gotten into this if I couldn't pull it off, hon." She curled up into an upright position, leaving him room to sit down. "Did you run into _any_ trouble at all tonight?"

"Not really. I set off an alarm on the ground floor and every guard in the building ran to it. It was just a matter of walking in and taking what I needed," he told her, not slightly gloating. "So when do we move?"

"As soon as possible, before our loving city saviours have the chance to interfere again."

Meanwhile, at Triquetra Headquarters... 

Raven and Venom had been laid out on two pallets across the floor of the central room, tended by Beast Boy and Terra, who claimed to have made a full recovery, even she was rubbing her back every few minutes. Blue Moon sat completely still, starting straight at the documents that still lay on the table. "We're missing something... Else we'd have figured this out already. Telly was always the one who worked the puzzles out. My entire bloody role is to be impatient, rant, rush into things and state the obvious. End of job description."

"Blue, with what _we _do, there is no job description. We make it up as we go," Speedy reminded her, typing numerous commands and searches into the computer.

"Yeah, well I never wanted to make this part up. What are you looking for anyway?"

"Nocturne. The Penguin called her Natalia Kitka. I want to see if there's any mention of her before now."

"Right then, at least that's something. BB, Terra, how's your patients?"

"I think they'll live, Blue," laughed Beast Boy. "But he really did knock them for six."

"And how far exactly did you knock me, BB?" Speedy quipped, still bearing the bruises of his encounter with the rhino. "I've got results!" he exclaimed, moments later. "Natalia Kitka, known metahuman and noted thief. A cat burglar who has never been convicted due to various diplomatic immunities and the simple fact that there is never any evidence to prove her presence at the scene of the crime. Little is known of her except that her sporadic attacks ceased quite suddenly a number of years ago. But, if you cross-reference that with the data from Telly's log... Nocturne's last score and Teleka being traded from Catwoman to Slade as an apprentice coincide."

"Do you think they could be connected?" Terra asked curiously, walking over to study the information. "Maybe Catwoman's second apprentice?"

"There was no Cat-girl in Gotham City after Telly moved to Jump. I was just here at the time," Blue Moon mused out loud. "Maybe it's just a coincidence" She fiddled around with the pages for a second longer, before letting out a high pitch squeak that deafened those close to her and threatened to wake Raven and Venom. "I've done it! I know what we were missing!"

"So do I! My eardrums!" complained BB, walking over to the table where Blue Moon had the three pieces of paper one on top of the other. "What's that supposed to do?" he asked sarcastically. Blue Moon reached under the table and flicked a switch, causing the glass top of the desk to light up. As the light beamed up through the paper, some of the map lines showed up darker than the others, spelling out a message. "Oh. Right, yeah. I knew that..."

Ignoring him, Blue began to read. "Friday, midnight. The isolation chambers at Stonegate Prison. Get them. Find me. I'll be fine. Love... Oh God, it's from Telly! She must've gotten into their files at some point."

"Blue, they stole those documents from the Mars Building the same day we stole them back. When would she have gotten the chance? It's a trap. They said if we were seen, she'd kill Teleka. Can we take that risk?" Terra asked worriedly, sitting opposite Blue Moon.

"Can we not? What if, somehow, this was Teleka? What if she was in the Mars Building? I wouldn't put it past her to have found some way to communicate with us. Besides, anyone else would have signed off as Teleka. We would be the only ones who call her Telly." Blue looked into the distance for a second, thinking deeply about the wording of Daimen and Nocturne's threat. Seconds later, she smiled conspiratorially round at them. "Besides... they only said, 'If we were _seen..._"


	5. Issues of Emotion

5

The next day, (Friday) The Iceberg Lounge... 

"Gentlemen," Nocturne smiled sweetly. "What we are about to do, has been attempted but never pulled off. But we're going to change that stereotype. We are in prime position to do so. And, I'm sure you'll agree, we have worked too hard to risk anything other than total success."

"Ah, but Natalia darling, what is it that makes your endeavour so fool proof?" the Penguin asked, not at all sceptical. Truth be told, he had every confidence in her, though at the time of their last collaboration she had been much younger.

"A number of factors have been twisted to our favour that had previously been overlooked. Firstly, we pick the weekend of Kasnia's _latest _missile crisis, when the entire Justice League, including our beloved Bats of course, has been called out. And to keep the Triquetra off our backs, we took the one member they had almost lost before as our hostage. They won't risk losing her again. So there is noone left with the ability to stop us, and after tonight's preliminary action, there will be noone with the ability to stop us at all. Does that satisfy your query, Ozzy hon?"

"Yes indeed, Natalia. Exemplary work, might I say also."

"But that's not all there is," Daimen interrupted seriously. "After tonight, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire. It's going to be one hectic weekend. How are you going to control this little army you've put together anyways?"

"Stolen telepathy, powers and mind control. If you think it's going to be a hectic weekend for you, it's going to be twice as bad for me." She smiled and nodded, heading off towards the door. "Now, if everyone's totally clear, I'm off to prepare myself for the task at hand. Good day, boys." With that, she sauntered out of the room, waving over her shoulder as she passed.

"Dare I say it, that young woman possesses one of the greatest criminal minds I have ever encountered. Quite a catch... How on Earth did you find that one, lad?" Cobblepot said, with a hint of pride on his voice as though Natalia Kitka were his own flesh and blood.

"She came to me with a plan," Daimen replied slowly, gathering his thoughts as he went. "She had the means, and the mind, even the motive... but not the muscle. When she offered me an equal share in the... fruits of her labour, I realized she wasn't just another businesswoman. Any one of those would have offered ten percent, twenty-five at the most. It wasn't that she was naïve, or stupid. She was genuine about the power share. And I think we both kind of... knew. If only her power didn't get in the way..."

"She's a genius, boy. She'll work around that twig on the road eventually. Hold on to that one. She's a real ticket to the top. You'll rule the world someday, mark my words."

"We intend to."

The Same Morning, At Triquetra Headquarters... 

"As realistic as all that sounds, Blue... it's just not realistic," Speedy told Blue Moon frankly after she had outlined her plan. Raven and Venom had long since woken the night before and had gathered with the others to here Blue Moon's great triumph.

"No, hold on, hear me out. Right, first off, Raven can you still do that creepy thing where you turn into the energy and you move that way?" Raven nodded in confirmation, satisfying Blue hugely. "Right then. It'll be dark, noone'll notice. Beast Boy, obviously, this is Stonegate we're talking about, they're not going to note one more _rat _or _spider_ in that place. I can move fast enough not to be seen, Terra can go in from underground, and Teleka's got you two covered." She finished her sentence just as she ran out of breath, pointing to Speedy and Venom.

"Teleka?" they asked in confusion as Blue Moon gasped for breath. She tried to explain, but collapsed into rattling inhalation again. "Oh I get it..." Venom answered slowly. "Did she finish that?"

Blue nodded and managed to choke out an interrupted sentence. "Yeah... The... Night before she... disappeared." She coughed one last time before she managed to regain her equanimity. "Alright, I'm all better now. I'll take you to it. This way!" Blue led off out of the room.

"What is it? What's she taking us to?" Speedy asked, fear tainting his curiosity.

"Teleka's latest, greatest project. You'll see," Venom replied somewhat smugly. The rest followed out of barefaced inquisitiveness, all fully aware of the irony of the situation. Weren't they the ones who had been telling Blue Moon off for nosiness just the day before? They were led to Teleka's section of the massive building, and then downstairs to her basement workshop.

"Behold!" Blue flourished exuberantly, pulling the dustsheet off two life-sized mannequins, each covered in small, round plates of silver. "Our ticket into Stonegate tonight."

"Yeah, and what do _those_ do?" Speedy asked cynically.

"Don't be so quick to judge," Venom snorted, walking up to stand beside Blue. He flicked a switch on one of the plates and smiled when the expected jolt of electricity spread through the nodes covering the model. As soon as the current reached the last port, it seemed the models, wart-like attachments and all, vanished from view.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, walking up to where the mannequins had stood. "Where'd they go?" He found his own answer when he fell from the stand with a crash, screaming for his 'broken' nose.

"That... is the coolest thing, I have _ever _seen," Terra said slowly, reaching out to touch the plastic, but receiving only a cruel electric shock. She shook her singed hand, biting down on the ends of her fingers.

Speedy jumped almost as high as Terra had, looking just as nervous. "Are you sure those are safe to wear?"

"Totally," Blue Moon reassured him. "The electrical field is right outside your skin, and because of the placement of the plates, they can never touch. Telly's a genius, what more can I say?"

"Then we're set? We go in tonight?" Raven queried, staying in the shadows at the back of the group with her hood framing her face.

"Well I bloody well don't think she meant next Friday. Yeah. We go in tonight. But as it's only two o'clock, we've got plenty of time. Do with it what you will," Blue dictated, obviously acting leader in Teleka's absence. The group began to drift away, until only Raven and Venom were left in the room.

"Rae... about last night..."

"I know, I know. I lost control. I just, I saw what he did to you and I... All I could do was lie there and watch... And then I almost went demon and, I'm sorry, about all that."

"That wasn't what I was going to say. Don't be sorry. I'm actually flattered." He managed to draw a small smile before he continued. "No, I just wanted to tell you, Beast Boy pretty much ran me through your fight with Daimen. And I wanted to say thank you. From what I heard, you're the main reason any of us got out of there. I just wanted to check if you were okay."

"I'm fine," Raven replied, still somewhat more subdued than she normally was. On the surface, she looked calm and distant, but inside, she was fighting wildly against the shadow of her demon father.

"Don't lie," Venom said simply, sliding his hands along the sides of her head and lowering her hood. "If you lie, I can't help." She met his eyes for a brief second before she threw her arms up around his shoulders.

"It's scary, when it tries to get free," she murmured like a scared little girl. "It's so hard to keep it inside." He held her close to him until she relaxed and broke away, the heel of her hand placed to her forehead.

"What's wrong?"

"It's weird... It's gone already. It never goes that quickly... The demon isn't fighting anymore..."

Blue Moon sat bored, flicking biscuit crumbs off the table, seeing which flew the farthest. "You look depressed," interrupted Terra as she walked into the room. She cried out as a flying, chocolaty speck landed in her eye with great precision. "What's eating _you_?"

"Still missing something..." Blue muttered. "Something very obvious..."

"The rest of the cookie?"

"I meant about what's happening. Something's staring me in the face and I can't see it. I'm blind. Get me a cane and some dark glasses, but not a guide dog, I'm allergic."

"Well whatever it is, we'll know after tonight, won't we?" Terra answered flippantly, falling onto the sofa.

"But that's just it. What if we're supposed to know before then, and we don't, and something terrible happens because of my blindness?" Blue countered, pretending to feel her way over to one of the armchairs.

"Then someone else will probably see it just in the nick of time to save us all from a life of pain and suffering... blah blah, woof woof." Terra sat down to channel surfing, seemingly not too worried. "It'll be fine, Blue. Don't worry about it."

"I can't help worrying about it. Those two nutjobs have my bestest bloody friend in the whole wide world and you're telling me not to worry? It doesn't work like that Tez. How would you feel if they had Rae, or BB, or one of the other Titans?" she yelled sadly, causing Terra to pause in silence for a second...

"About the same, I guess. Sorry. You're right."

"Forget it... sorry I flew off the handle there."

"You've got every right to fly off the handle, _I_ was out of line. Like you said, two psychos playing your best friend like a violin..."

"Not even my best friend. I don't mean to get all soppy and all, but Telly.... Telly's my sister. All three of us have lost family or friends... But somehow we get about and we're always okay. But recently, it always seems to be Telly in trouble, or making the sacrifices and it's like she really doesn't care about herself so long as..." She bit down hard on her lip, holding back tears. "Which means if something happens to her... I'm going to feel really bad...."

"She wouldn't want you to be worried. Teleka can handle herself, even without powers," Terra said comfortingly.

"Then why hasn't she fought her way home?" Blue asked fairly, gazing off into space listlessly. "I'm going to kick myself when I find out what it is..."

"What?"

"The rest of the cookie..."

Beast Boy and Speedy had been assigned to cooking lunch, but after a while, it seemed to be Beast Boy doing all the work. He waved a green palm in front of Speedy's glazed eyes slowly. "HQ to Speedy, come in Speedy. Do you read me?" he drawled slowly. Speedy simply swatted his hand away with a lip-stretch that barely passed as a smile. "Dude, Teleka's okay."

"I know."

"So why the downsome, mopey gaze-ness? It's not you, dude."

"Nocturne..."

"What?! You're not telling me you..."

"... And Daimen, BB. I mean I don't _trust_ Nocturne to keep her promise and not kill Telly."

"Dude, we just have to get to them first. Teleka's message gave us a time and a place. The chances are if we're there, we'll be able to take them down and take her back!"

"Or that it'll all have been one huge set-up," came the morose reply, making the green-fingered chef slightly doubtful.

"Well... yeah... there's always that part of the uh... fine print, but dude, look on the bright side-"

"Bright side?" Speedy shouted, cutting him off and standing sharply out of his seat. "What bright side is that then, huh Beast Boy?"

"Dude, I'm only trying to-"

"How would you feel if they had Terra? Any of the Titans! Are you telling me you wouldn't still be worried, no matter what information you had? When you thought Robin had vanished, and then Starfire, you weren't just a little concerned that they might not come back?!" He seemed to calm after his outburst, falling back into the chair and letting his head thud loudly on the counter top.

"Okay, I get it. Sorry."

"No, I am," sighed Speedy. "It's just... what if she can't get her powers back? What if she's different when she comes back?"

"Are we talking about the same Teleka? If she didn't change for Catwoman in three years, she'd not going to change for some amateur, demon half-breed and an amateur English chick in three days. Don't sweat it. Give the girl a _little_ credit."

Speedy laughed wanly. "You're right, you're right, she'll be fine, and I'm being stupid. One question though."

"Shoot."

"How the hell did you manage to burn salad!?" Beast Boy let out a mad parrot-like squawk and ran to stop the mysterious smoke.

Of course, while they fretted and tried to become ready for anything, Nocturne was happily preparing herself for the task at hand, she groaned slightly when the shrill, all too perky ring tone from her cellphone split the ambient air in two. "Hello," she sighed tiredly.

"Noc, where are you?"

"Relax, Daimen hon, it's only eight o'clock. I'll be there at ten sharp, which gives us plenty of time. I'm deep in the throes of psychological preparation."

"Aren't you cutting it a little fine?"

"Stop stressing me. I'm trying to relax. A relaxed mind is a calm mind, and a clam mind deals better with controlling those of the city's most dangerous criminals. I'm preparing myself mentally for the positively evil weekend ahead."

"Are you... taking a bath?"

"What's it to you?" she snapped with a laugh as she switched the phone off and threw it halfway across the tiled floor, sliding into the scalding water as it skittered across the floor. "A girl's entitled to it once in a while anyways."

10 O'clock... 

A series of sharp clicks and the sound of a door opening and closing somewhere in the warehouse brought both the Penguin and Daimen sharply to their feet. "Before I enter this room, Ozzy, put your umbrella down and Daimen cool it hon, it's only me." Nocturne sauntered into the room, her three-inch heels clacking against the cold floor of the small office. "Everything in order?"

"All we can do now is wait," Penguin replied easily, laying his umbrella down beside the chair with the safety catch switched on.

"I still think you should've come earlier," Daimen told her darkly as the aura around his fists began to fade.

"Afraid to let me out of your sight, hon?" she smiled, moving closer to his chair and leaning down over the table.

"Something like that, yeah." He could almost feel her breath on his skin, but had the strange sensation she was hiding something. Of course, that could have been the fear of her curse he was feeling. Her skin was too close for comfort

"I don't think I like your tone. I think I'll leave and decide. Back in ten, boys, don't run off without me." She stood up sharply, keeping eye contact before spinning on her designer heel and stalking out of the room. Slamming the door, Nocturne inhaled deeply and sighed before she walked away to run off some steam. "Men..."

"You need her, boy. Even when the hard work is over, you still need her. Don't let her slip through, because after tonight, if your not on her good side, she could easily double-cross, and you know it."

"Shut up, Cobblepot. I'm fully aware of the risks involved in working with Nocturne's type. She's a cocky, self-assured player, but she's good. She figured out how to take each of the heroes she thought we'd come up against down, and it worked, and I'm sure she has a plan for if it all goes horribly wrong. She's too good. That's why I don't trust her."

"Boy, when she explained to me about your plan, she sung your praises like the Black Canary. But now I don't understand what she meant by smart."

"One, stop calling me kid, and two, I'm only worried because if she does go one-eighty on us, we won't even know until it's all happened."

"You're being paranoid. Give her a little credit."

11 O'clock... Triquetra HQ... 

"Right then chums. We all set?" asked Blue Moon with authority as she stood before the group in a blue catsuit, having discarded her veils and silks for the sake of speed. "Speedy, Venom, what did we say about nodding? We can't see you, so you open your mouths, and let the words come out, okay?"

"Yes, Blue," they answered like scolded school children, so that the others could almost imagine the sarcastically apologetic looks on their faces.

"Right then. Terra, are you sure you can do this without everything collapsing in on you?"

"For the thirty-second time, yes! Are you sure you can really move that fast?" Terra had tried in vain to make a sarcastic point, proved wrong when, fractions of a second after the words had left her mouth, Blue Moon stood in front of her, a broad smirk splitting her face. "Should've known better than to ask."

"I was just making sure, Tez. Raven, BB, you ready too?" They both nodded and Blue seemed satisfied, returning to the front of the room. "Alright then. Remember, we don't have a priority. If push comes to shove, split up and complete both objectives. Do with Daimen what you will, but Nocturne must be brought here alive at all costs, if Teleka's not with them. And if that's all clear, let's go." She turned to lead the way out of the room and through to the garage.

She snatched the keys but paused, looking the direction she knew Venom and Speedy were in. "Right, I can't resist this. Sheer comedy value. One of you is driving."


	6. Not always a Nice One, Forever a Good On...

6.

Nocturne heard Daimen's heavy footfalls on the metal ground, but didn't turn to look at him. "Dear old Ozzy... he told you to do this, didn't he?" she stated coldly, ensuring he knew that there was no question implicit. She sat on the edge of one of the catwalks above the main floor of the warehouse, smiling to herself. 'I wonder how big my hand would be if he were _literally _wrapped round my little finger?' she thought smugly to herself.

"I'm sorry," he said simply, almost begrudging her the apology. "I _do _trust you."

"No, hon. You trust my plan, not me. My brain, not my instincts. I don't even need my telepathy for that. You still think I'm going to turn on you, and I'm just wondering if it's worth being in business with someone who's always going to be viewing me as the enemy. Even my motives should give you a hint. We are both set against the Triquetra, aren't we? A very wise man once told me, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It looks like I'll be able to prove to him that wisdom is highly over-rated." She spoke sadly, still not turning to him, not trusting herself not to grin like a maniac when she saw the look she imagined would mar his features.

"You're right. I- I understand what you're saying, Noc-"

"If you can't trust my skills and abilities... Or is _that_ the problem? Is it my powers? The way you can't touch me?"

"It gets so frustrating... I trust you Noc... I trust you. But never make me regret it. Promise?" Her fingers curved over the edge of the catwalk, two of them only just crossing each other.

"I promise." She turned slightly, managing to dull her smile to a thin-lipped grimace, and stretched out her gloved hand to his and allowing him to help her out. "Don't make me regret that... Now let's get going, or else our mutual enemy will be there before us."

"Off already, Miss Kitka?" asked the Penguin, gently pressing his lips to her other glove in his customary gentleman's manner. "Good luck"

"Ah, but there's no such thing as luck, Ozzy," Nocturne replied, not missing a beat or a step as she continued to walk. "Now remember, you absolutely must stay here until one of us calls. Then head over to GCPD headquarters and meet us there."

"Keep your luck, you might just need it, Cobblepot. You just never know!" Daimen called back over Nocturne's wicked laugh.

Only ten minutes later, the heroes had reached the dock opposite the miniature offshore island of rock that housed Stonegate Maximum Security Prison. Without a word, Raven levitated the car down to the pebbly shore beneath the jetty, disguising it in the shadows. With their combined powers, the party travelled through the air to the almost monumental edifice, finding that even for them the shadow of the intimidating structure held a considerable amount of fear.

Raven dropped her form out of the sky, fading into the building's exterior wall and using the dark matter she exuded to leave a gap in the barricade for the others. Blue Moon entered first, darting back and forth at the speed of light, close enough to invisible to the naked eye to get through. Human eyes could hardly notice the little green spider that skittered along the walls at an erratic jerky place, and the other senses of most of the inmates could never pick up the slight rumble in the earth as Terra began to tunnel, blocking the path behind her so hopefully noone would notice her unorthodox arrival. And to be quite frank, nobody knew _where_ Venom and Speedy were until the Beast Boy spider began to weave a web between the two, and only just missed being crushed. The hole in the wall sealed as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only a dark river running along the corners of the hallways, deepening the shadows to something darker than the absence of light.

Thanks to the plans they had stolen from Nocturne, it was easy to find the way to the isolation chambers. However, had the corridors leading to it been manned with sentries, rather than the guards who sat comfortably on a permanent break in the rooms along each hall, they would have been blown when one of the Titan's communicators bleeped sharply. "Sorry," growled Raven. "It's mine... What the hell do you want?" she whispered to Robin on the other end, still not materializing out of her almost-fluid form.

"I was just wondering if you knew about the strikes all over Gotham. It's all over the news, lackeys connected with the Penguin carrying out minor crimes simultaneously..." Stony silence once again enveloped the hallway for a long moment.

"Bye Robin." Raven snapped her communicator closed sharply, and they fell back into silence until Blue Moon managed to voice what they were all thinking with one word.

"Shit!" she groaned quietly. "Teleka didn't write that note. This was their plan, to distract us here and then-!"

"No, Blue. Something doesn't add up there. Why go to all that trouble at the Mars Building, the Iceberg Lounge, _Teleka," _Venom reasoned seriously. "I still think you were right. It's a double bluff. We _are_ supposed to be here."

"Terra was the one who said the other night, that the Penguin's protecting Noc and Daimen," continued Speedy, making another vain attempt to swat Beast Boy from his shoulder. "This is just another failsafe to distract us from the real plan. Never thought I'd say this, but Blue, you were right all along."

"So we keep going? We're in Stonegate Prison for all the wrong reasons. We can't stay here to have some kind of strategy meeting," Raven stated coldly, a whip-like section of the darkness swatting the Spider crawling all over her into the opposite wall.

"That was so cold!" Beast Boy exclaimed in his tiny, thin voice, still not even audible to the others as he slid down the wall.

"You're right. All of you. We keep moving, I'm making an executive decision for once in my life." Blue said rather proudly. "The night is young, if this does turn out to be a false lead, we have plenty of time to get out into the city."

"You're right. The night _is_ young, hon." Blue found she didn't even have to turn to find out who had spoke behind her.

"You people have the greatest appearing act I've seen in a long time. Maybe when you get out of this place you could take that to the stage," she sighed, not bothering to whisper any more, knowing somehow that this wouldn't come quietly.

"We know what you want, you know what we want. You'll get her back if you just go out there and take care of the Penguin's goons. We don't really need him anyway." Daimen spoke with grave solemnity, as matter-of-fact as if they were discussing the weather. Just as she was about to turn, Blue Moon looked cautiously to the rest of the group, urging them to follow her lead.

"No. Telly wouldn't have wanted us to sacrifice this city for her sake. She'd go through us for a shortcut to Australia, so I'm not going to bother."

"We tried to reason with you. You can't say otherwise. But we did make a promise. Do it, Noc." He didn't even turn to her until she refused. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he thought, appealing to her telepathy.

'It's fading out. I'll need to absorb from her again, more thoroughly. She using the remnants of her abilities to call her powers back," she thought back, ignoring his angry glance. "All in good time, hon. I wouldn't do it in front of them."

"It's not like they're going to be focused on you anyway, Noc," he growled, moving towards the team as Nocturne began to back away. 'You get set up. We'll talk about this later.'

'I read you, hon. Sorry about this...' she thought back, turning and hovering down the corridor.

'Later...' Daimen advanced towards the party again, glowing. Blue Moon noticed Raven's shadow sliding after Nocturne.

"Raven, leave her a minute. Let's take this one down."

"You sound almost confident, Blue Moon," Daimen said quietly, advancing on her as she stood at the front of the group like the leader she temporarily was. "After all the times you've lost out, you'd think you'd have learned by now."

"Just ask Telly, I never was the quick one. But I know something about Noc that you don't," she said, causing him to swing for her head, but ducking at the last minute at light-speed. Daimen cried out as something caught him in the back of the neck. It had felt like the relative sting of one of Speedy's energy arrows, but when he spun, he couldn't see him anywhere. Something bit into his arm, and immediately a deep green began to run up the vein, but Venom mysteriously had disappeared as well. The black tendrils of the liquid Raven began to twine up around his body, choking him. The Beast Boy Spider scurried to the ceiling, dropping down as he morphed into a tyrannosaurus and aiming for Daimen's head. Raven pulled out just in time, but with inhuman strength, Daimen reached up and tossed the T-Rex down the hall.

"Is that it?" he laughed, sending ripples of dark energy in all directions, highlighting the edges of Venom and Speedy as it crackled away from the electricity of their suits. Their outlines appeared bright white negatives in the darkness.

"Telly's not going to like _this_..." Venom mumbled, looking at the ruined suit before ducking another swing from Daimen. But his opponent moved to quickly, dropping to the ground and sweep-kicking him to the floor, knocking all the air from Venom's lungs with a well-placed boot. He sensed Blue Moon attempting to run into him from behind, hoping her speed would be enough to tackle him, but as with Beast Boy the night before, he quietly sidestepped, allowing her to run on into Speedy. She barrelled over him, rolling backwards into the wall and landing head to head with him.

"Christ, Blue! You'd think after _Beast Boy _falling for that, you might have realized rushing this guy isn't going to work, and is probably going to cause me a couple of broken ribs!"

"Sorry. Looks like Raven and BB are up anyways. This is just the kinda time where you want Terra to burst through the ground under his feet, isn't it? That would be just perfect..." She sat in silence for a moment, as though waiting for it to happen. "But nothing's ever perfect in this town..." Right at that moment, the ground began to crack slightly. "You're joking me?" But when the slim, blonde figure pulled through the floor, she was about three feet behind Daimen. "You missed! You silly cow! You missed! I almost got my perfect movie moment and you missed!" Terra glanced at her in confusion as the floor sealed beneath her, except for one shard of the stone that flew through the air towards Daimen, slamming straight into his back, doubling him backwards painfully and tossing him through the air.

"_What'd_ I miss?" she quipped with a smile. Daimen was about to get up and finish his fight when he felt the familiar tickle of Nocturne's telepathy in his head. 'I'm ready. Bring them here,' she said. Even from the voice of her mind he could tell she was smiling broadly, more than ready to finish this now and get on with their task.

"If you ever want to see Teleka again before she dies, you'll follow," he rasped coldly, still winded from the fall as he fazed in and out, luring them further into the complex, leading them to the isolation chambers where Nocturne was quietly waiting in the wings. "Is it all set up?"

"Have I ever let you down, hon?"

"Is it all set up?" he replied coldly. She smiled at him with a brief, fake pout and nodded.

"I need you just there. Over the metal circle. That way it'll be easier to manipulate them into place. All six are here, aren't they? I picked up Terra making an entrance." He moved into position and she nodded again, satisfied. "I just want you to know... I'm sorry about earlier. I had no idea her mind was so strong. Am I forgiven? You did make a promise," she reminded him with a sleek grin.

"So did you..." he faltered, smiling slightly as he gave in to her charm. "I still trust you."

"Good to know," she giggled, converting her bracelet into a miniature crossbow once again and hunching behind a control panel to take aim. "Are they coming?" she sighed impatiently.

"They'll be here any second. Are you ready? You've got all six cells set up?"

"Yes, hon. Stop worrying. Oh and by the way... Good Luck," she smirked. He didn't quite know what she meant, but smiled back anyway, just as Blue Moon and her army stampeded into the room.

"Noc, go! What are you waiting for?"

"I hasn't worked, they're not in the right places... but you are, hon."

"What do you mean?" Suddenly Daimen found he couldn't move, pinned in one place above the metal circle. "Noc, what is this? Noc!"

"Nope. Guess again." She smiled, but her English accent seemed to have evaporated into American with a slight Irish lilt.

"What?" He asked in confusion, glaring at her from behind the telekinetic field. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I told you I knew something about her you didn't!" Blue Moon shouted triumphantly. She and Nocturne were the only ones in the room who weren't utterly confused. "It was simple really. Even though I only figured it out ten minutes ago."

"Yeah, it took you longer than I thought it would. I dropped enough hints!"

"You know I'm not the detective in the group. Anyway, get on with this so we can rub his nose in it."

"You're right, you're right I'm procrastinating," Noc giggled, raising her arm sideways and shooting a single bolt expertly into a panel on the wall. A cylindrical screen of reinforced glass replaced her telekinesis field and began to slowly fill with green liquid. "Congratulations Daimen, in five minutes you will the newest maximum security inmate of Stonegate Prison. And Ozzy'll only be down the hall!"

She pulled out a small silver cellphone and flipped it open, her English accent returning.

"Ozzy? Head on over to GCPD now. Yes I know it was fast. Your men around town managed to distract our resident superheroes. I love you too. Get going, Cobblepot." She ended the call and dialled, the other voice taking over. "Heya, comis.? Yeah, it's good to hear from you too. Listen, the Penguin's on his way to GCPD, arrest him for conspiracy to take over the city, money laundering and... What was the other one...? Oh yeah, collaboration with wanted criminals. I drop the evidence by on my way home. Give me an hour or so. Okay, talk to you then." She hung up and turned to the team. "Have you worked it out _now_?" They stared blankly for a moment before shaking their heads in unison, Venom and Speedy now visible with the suits switched off. Nocturne sighed and glanced at Daimen's tank, almost half-full as he crashed continuously against it, but made no headway as it filled up to his chest.

"Noc, what the hell! I trusted you, why are you doing this to me, Nocturne?"

"Because I'm not Nocturne, _hon_. Blue, help me get this thing off." A moment or two later, the person before them still looked somehow like Nocturne, but held a blonde wig in one hand, shaking out her red and black-streaked tresses. Suddenly, everything made sense to the team. She slid off her gloves, revealing her claw-like nails and rolled up her sleeve to uncover the faded Slade scar.

"Teleka?" they cried loudly. Confusion didn't even seem to cover their emotions.

"Took you lot long enough!" Blue cackled, starting to explain as Teleka turned to face Daimen. The liquid in the containment cells was starting to take effect, paralysing his muscles painlessly.

"You couldn't have... Not for so... No... You tricked me!" he shouted in confusion, muffled by the glass. She clapped sarcastically with a cackle.

"I'm amazed you didn't have me figured. There were so many times I thought you knew. I guess I was giving you a little too much credit in the IQ department, huh? I believe it was the Penguin who told you that you needed my brains to pull it off. Guess what? You're not going to pull it off. But you were a pleasure to work with if it's any consolation."

"B-but the powers..."

"Are my own. I can't _steal _other people's powers. I'm not cursed. I can touch other people's skin. Just not yours. Some dirt just doesn't scrub off, y'know?" His face twisted in an ugly snarl of hate, just as the liquids reached it, freezing the glare there perpetually. Immediately Teleka sighed in relief, fanning herself madly with her hands as she dropped to the floor. Most of the team had the jist of the situation and came to sit beside her, but Beast Boy was having trouble understanding, and Blue Moon was trying to clarify the idea.

Teleka sank back against the floor, laughing hysterically. "Thank God! I was so sick of the accent, and the purple. The purple was really annoying and the wig... the blonde... oh I think I'm going to cry! I'm sorry, it wasn't actually planned! Please don't kill me!" She raised her arms as a kind of shield from the attacks she was sure were coming.

"Telly, we're not going to hurt you," Speedy laughed, lifting her from the floor in his arms. She screamed playfully for him to put her down, and louder when he dropped her. Luckily Venom was there to break her fall.

"Let's go home and you can explain everything, and then I might understand why any of us would want to kill you," he said slowly, helping her to her feet while she was still hysterical.

"Okay!" she giggled. "But I have to drop this off to Commissioner Gordon first." She pulled a black file from her purple backpack. "This ought to put the Penguin in here for a long time!" she said happily. "How's your shoulder by the way? That was a mistake.

An hour later, the seven of them were sprawled around the living room, patiently waiting for a full explanation.

"Okay, I'll start at the beginning. Okay, three days before I left, I was out on patrol, and I heard about Kasnia's latest missile crisis, so I did a little investigation. I found out the whole thing had been sparked off by one man, who was Daimen. _Later_ I found out that he was here in Gotham, and that he was planning the same thing for us, on a much larger scale. Venom, you were out with Raven, and Blue was supposed to be here, but wasn't, and she didn't answer to her phone or communicator. So I was on my own with this and all I knew was that I had to stop it..."

"Funny story there actually, true story-" Blue Moon said, trying to explain her absence hurriedly. "I called for a pizza, but it didn't come and - "

"Blue, it's okay, it doesn't matter. Now, I knew going after this guy as just Teleka was suicide on my own, so I had to think up a plan and I remember someone telling me once that the easiest way to a bad guy is another bad guy. And I remembered I used to be a bad guy! And I remembered that one of my past alter egos owed lots of favours. So, I went back to one of the aliases I used as Cat-Girl, Natalia Kitka, and I took Nocturne as a new moniker..."

"Cool name, by the way, meant to say that to you, dude," Beast Boy complemented, giving Teleka the chance to take a much-needed breath.

"Thank you. So when I found Daimen, I told him why cause havoc, when you can own the city? And I made the whole plan up as I went along from the people we've fought before, but he bought it. Now when it all kicked off, I was going to let you in on it, so that everything would work out a little easier. But then he hit the million-dollar question: what about the heroes? So I decided to kidnap me... Does that make sense?"

"Only just," Terra quipped, trying to follow Teleka's mile-a-minute explanation.

"That's good. SO he was going for it, and I decided to go whole-hog and implicate an old ally from my past as well, Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a the Penguin. He was like a bonus in case you were mad at me, or in case the commissioner found out and I was screwed. Anyways, I decided to help you work it out, since I looked so different. So I started dropping hints, like letting you get the papers, leaving the message, crashing _Selina Kyle's _party, never actually fighting you, etcetera etcetera..."

"Um, _hello_?" Venom said, looking slightly out raged as he pointed to his bandaged shoulder. "You call that not fighting?"

Teleka floundered for a second, "... Well, I'd call it more disabling, but I've already apologized, and I'm going to keep apologizing. Can you forgive me?"

"Not until you've fixed the other car. What do you call ripping off the roof?"

"Blue was always nagging me for a convertible. It was kind of another hint. And it was also me getting carried away. Anyways, after that point in the story, I think you know the rest. I'm sorry," she said meekly, lying back on one of the couches.

"You single-handedly prevented the Gotham Missile Crisis. You stopped us turning into _Kasnia_. Don't be sorry," Raven stated coolly.

"You don't hate me for staging my own kidnapping and almost taking over the city?"

"We don't hate you, and you wouldn't have gone that far and you know it, Tel." Blue Moon moved over beside her, wrapping her arm around her friends shoulder. "In fact it was nice to get a break from you," she laughed.

"Blue, you were panicking the next morning," Venom deadpanned, wiping the smile off her face but drawing raucous laughter from everyone else in the room.

"So I'm still loved? I can stay here in my own home?" Teleka asked melodramatically, wincing when Blue clipped her over the head sharply.

"Well, if we keep you after finding out you were Cat-Girl and after finding out you stole my mother's necklace, we can keep you after a three-day return to that in order to save the bloody city, you doughnut!"

Later on, Teleka emerged from her room looking more like herself again now that Nocturne's make-up had been washed away by the gentle spray of a hot shower and her clothes were once again her customary red and black. As she looked around the rest of her third of Headquarters, checking nothing had been tampered with, she could just make out the padding footsteps of someone following her. She sidestepped into the room she used when she needed to get away from the other two, a simple space with only a sofa and a stereo system. She stopped at the end of the sofa and turned to face her stalker, giggling like a schoolgirl. "The suits work then?"

"Like a charm, Einstein." Teleka reached out to where she knew the switch would be and flicked the suit off, revealing Speedy standing in front of her, more than toe-to-toe. He reached out and pushed her backwards onto the sofa, landing beside her, beaming. "Listen. Before I forget, I just want to ask you something, and I don't want you to be mad, 'cause it's a perfectly honest question but-"

"Nocturne and Daimen? No. How could I? I'd never have been able to live with myself..." she told him seriously, and he didn't need Blue Moon's powers to know she was telling the truth. "I told him she couldn't touch his skin, or else his powers would be gone, and she'd be in control of his mind. 'My... my powers are a curse, Daimen...'" she said returning to her Nocturne accent and giving an Oscar-winning performance.

"Nice move... I thought I hadn't seen you in three days... really it was you I was ranting about..."

"Speedy? Shut up already," she smiled softly, leaning in to kiss him.

"Now, do you recognise me!?" Teleka exclaimed exuberantly, an hour later as she strolled into the common room again. "So come on! What'd I miss inside three days?"


End file.
